Abstract
Increasing numbers of children with disabilities in Malaysia are being educated in the general education classrooms. Schools have begun to integrate children with disabilities into regular classrooms if an integrated placement can benefit the children academically and socially. Special education teachers and general education teachers divide the responsibility of educating the children. The special education teacher taught using an adapted curriculum and materials in a pullout program or resource room while the general education teacher taught using standard curriculum and textbooks within the general classroom. Inclusion in Malaysia has no intention of placing every child with a disability in the general classroom if it is not the most beneficial place of instruction. There is a need to preserve the continuum of services provided while promoting full inclusion. Therefore a shared model of service delivery facilitated by consultation, collaboration and co-teaching is proposed as an alternative to the traditional model of divided responsibility. It is expected that the shared responsibility model of inclusion will meet some resistance from general education teachers especially with increased teaching responsibilities. However, shared responsibility will make inclusion programs more coherent and successful.
INTRODUCTION
Special needs children continue to challenge teachers in the classrooms. In Malaysia presently, children with special needs are being served in larger numbers in special education classrooms. As more special education programs are introduced in Malaysian schools more children with disabilities enrolled in both primary and secondary schools to gain access to education. Special education teachers increasingly faced children with diverse backgrounds as their enrollment increased annually. Education of special children is the sole responsibility of the special education teacher who serves in special schools or regular schools with special education classes.
The concept of inclusive education was only introduced in Malaysia in 1995 and is still in its infancy stage. Inclusive education is regarded as functional integration of students with disabilities with their non-disabled peers. Students are placed initially in special education classrooms and transferred to inclusive classrooms if they are able to adapt academically and socially with their peers. Placement decision is made by the school principle on recommendation of the special education coordinator. In practice only two or three students are placed in inclusive classrooms.
Majority of the students in inclusive classrooms have visual or hearing disabilities and are being trained for technical and vocational skills in vocational schools throughout the country. Five schools have been selected and to date no empirical data is available to assess the implementation of the inclusive programs. The programs have only been implemented in January 2000 and it is rather premature to evaluate its effectiveness. The purpose of the program is for specific skills training and future employment in the private sector.
Special Education in Malaysia
After Malaysia gained independence in 1957, there was no formal education for children with disabilities. Generally, parents were reluctant to send their disabled children to schools for fear of embarrassment and ill treatment. Children with disabilities received no education but were sheltered at home and keep away from the public eye. The public lack awareness of the needs of population with disabilities resulting in majority of them earning a living on the streets as panhandlers. Until 1948, voluntary organizations and religious institutions conducted the few education programs that were available for individuals with disabilities.
The recognition for special education began with education for children with visual and hearing disabilities. The first institution for the disabled in Malaysia was the Saint Nicholas Home, a school for the blind set up by Anglican missionaries in 1926. In 1948, the British administrators set up another school for the blind, the Princess Elizabeth School. Remedial education was introduced into mainstream classrooms in 1965 for the purpose of ameliorating problems in reading, spelling and arithmetic. When 1981 was declared as the year of Disabled Persons, there was increased awareness for giving opportunities to population with disabilities to develop job skills and be independent and productive members of society.
The Cabinet Committee report in 1979 recommended the following changes to the Ministry of Education for special education: (a) improving resources and facilities for education of the blind, (b) formal schooling for the deaf to begin at age 6, and (c) incorporating remedial education in primary schools. The Ministry of National Unity and Social Development became responsible for the welfare and education of children with multiple and severe disabilities who are unable to be educated in government schools. The children received education and related services in early intervention and community-based rehabilitation programs. The Ministry of Health is in turn responsible for early identification and screening of disabilities and related health problems of young children.
Education for children with learning disabilities began in 1988. The Education Act of 1996 defined children with special needs as children with visual, hearing and learning disabilities. Children with learning disabilities are further defined by the Ministry of Education as: (a) children with Down Syndrome, (b) children with autism, (c) children with cognitive disabilities, (d) children with behavioral and emotional difficulties, (e) children with health problems, and (f) children with speech and language difficulties. The Act regards children with learning disabilities as "educable" but to be taught using a modified curriculum in special classrooms in regular schools. Eligibility for placement in special education programs is through certification by a medical officer and parents or guardians are responsible for transportation of their children to the respective schools.
By 1995, two types of special education programs are available in Malaysian schools: (a) remedial education, and (b) special education). Children in remedial classrooms have difficulties in basic literacy skills and children in special education programs experienced severe difficulty in learning and are generally unable to cope in mainstream classrooms. Children with visual, hearing and physical disabilities with "normal' intelligence are educated in regular classrooms with appropriate resources and services.
Inclusive Education in Malaysia
The philosophy of education in Malaysia is education is the right of all children and educational opportunities must be extended to children with disabilities. This philosophy is in line with the concept of a "caring society" which is concern with providing job opportunities and quality of life for individuals with disabilities. In the 1990's the Ministry of Education realized that children with special needs have been inappropriately segregated and deprived of educational opportunities in the regular classroom. In a broader perspective integration in the classroom is related to integration in the larger society as part of the caring society concept. It is therefore important to develop a positive attitude towards the disabled as early as the childhood years.
Inclusion was introduced in Malaysia as part of a radical movement towards reformation in special education. Inclusion is defined as the process of educating children with special needs in an environment where they have maximum interaction with their non-disabled peers (Ministry of Education, 1994). Among the aims of inclusive education are: (a) to facilitate learning social skills necessary for interacting appropriately in society, (b) to develop positive self-esteem for acceptance in an able-bodied world, and (c) to share available resources in regular classrooms.
An important determinant of success of inclusive education is teacher's acceptance. Inclusive education is a recent development in special education and confusion persists as to its exact implementation. Without doubt inclusive education signifies a change in the previous trend of separating teaching responsibilities between general education and special education teachers. Educating children with special needs is no longer the sole responsibility of the special education teacher. Inclusive education requires professional collaboration between the general and special education teacher to improve delivery of instruction and services to children with disabilities.
The Proposed Model for Inclusion
Integration of children with and without disabilities is desired but there is no intention that every child with disabilities be placed in a general education classroom. There is a reluctance to abandon special education classes completely but at the same time there is a need to increase the involvement of children with mild disabilities in the regular classroom. No evidence exists to support that all needs of all special children can be met in the general education classroom. However, education for them in special education classes only is seen as a divided and fragmented form of delivery of educational services.
Inclusion therefore is an alternative placement on the continuum of delivery of educational services for the purpose of providing better instruction and maximizing students' learning potential. Special education classes have been subjected to criticism for failure to provide appropriate education and related services. Instruction is often watered down to repetition of basic skills and frequently limited in content (Zigmond & Miller, 1992). Instruction is provided at a slower pace, below the mastery level of the students and is less cognitively demanding (Partanen, 1993).
An alternative model to full inclusion and preservation of continuum of services is the shared responsibility model in which the task of educating children with disabilities is shared between the general and special education teacher. This model is facilitated by consultation, collaboration or co-teaching. Irrespective of whether children with disabilities remained full time or part time in the general education classroom both the general education and special education teacher have a shared responsibility of deciding the best and most successful program to maximize their students' learning potential.
In the consultation component, the general education teacher conducts all instruction with consultation provided by the special education teacher. In this model both teachers consult with each other about modifications to the curriculum and planning of teaching activities and instructional materials. The general education teacher assumes responsibility of teaching with the special education teacher giving specific in-class instruction to several children and shares instruction fore overall class for some portion of the day. Both teachers also incorporate teaching strategies found effective for children with disabilities.
The consultation component also includes the application of direct instruction and cooperative learning in the inclusive classroom. In direct instruction the teacher demonstrates appropriate strategies for each task, allows for guided practice and provides frequent feedback. The task is explained as precisely as possible, divided into small components and presented at the students' mastery level. Teacher directed instruction have been found to increase the amount of time for student-teacher interaction and number of times the task is completed successfully (Englert, Tarrant, & Marriage, 1992).
Cooperative learning involves student working together in small groups to complete an assigned task. Among a positive outcome of cooperative learning is students develop social skills for working cooperatively in groups. Students mastered information on specific topics for the group project and share the information with other members of the group. Student's skills and knowledge are combined to complete the assigned project.
In the collaborative or co-teaching model, the general education and special education teacher simultaneously share the responsibility of teaching the required curriculum. Most general education teachers are skilled and experienced in teaching large groups of students while the special education teacher have expertise in determining difficulties associated with the curriculum and adapting instructional strategies and materials. The two professionals working together definitely enhanced instruction in the classroom for both children with and without disabilities.
Co-teaching however requires careful planning to determine roles and expectations of each teacher. Co-teaching also fosters academic growth and quality of learning for students (Pugach & Johnson, 1995). Teachers need to share responsibility for improving teaching for all students. Frequent communication and support during instruction ensure that both the general education and special education teachers are successful partners in teaching.
Co-teaching is also characterized by challenges such as constant observation by a teaching partner, philosophical differences as well as different levels of expertise. However, professional collaboration is necessary for effective teaching of students with and without disabilities in an inclusive classroom.
CONCLUSION
Implementing inclusive education in Malaysia is not an easy task. Providing educational opportunities and related services to children with disabilities presents challenges to the present educational practices and administration. Education for all without discrimination is crucial in a developing country to produce citizens who are productive and contribute to the country's changing economy. Before 1981, education for children with special needs is practically non-existent. Children attend regular schools and were given remedial help if available and often the children leave school without full completion due to sub-standard academic achievement. Today, the same children have at least the opportunity to leave the seclusion of their homes and learn basic literacy skills if not social, communicative and living skills to be adjust themselves in an able-bodied world. Further improvement of the present system requires systematic change and full support of teachers. Change therefore is a collective effort.
Bibliography
Englert, C. S., Tarrant, K. L., & Mariage, T. V. (1992). Defining and redefining instructional practice in special education: Perspectives on good teaching. Teacher Education and Special Education, 15, 62-87.
Partanen, J. N. (1993). Academic experiences of secondary students in special education and regular education classes, unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, PA.
Pugach, M. C., & Johnson, L. J. (1995). Collaborative practitioners: Collaborative schools. Denver: Love Publishing.
Zigmond, N., & Miller, S.E. (1992). Improving high school programs for students with learning disabilities: A matter of substance as well as form. In F. Rusch, L. DeStefano, J. Chadsey-Rusch, L. Phelps, & E. Szymanski (Eds.), Transition from school to adult life (pp. 17-33). Scaymore Publishing.
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